"Man of Tai Chi" Alternative Poster

THE MOVIE: Keanu Reeves directs and stars in Man of Tai Chi, an action-packed homage to classic kung fu films. Also starring is Hong Kong singer-actress Karen Mok and Chen Hu (aka Tiger Chen). Yuen Woo-ping will be handling the choreography. In Man of Tai Chi, Chen Hu stars as a young martial artist whose fighting skills brings him to a realm of vast opportunities, and painful choices. Reeves is playing the villain.

Updates: You won’t want to miss this behind the scenes look at the film, which shows how Keanu Reeves is using automated camera dollys to capture the martial arts sequences.

Filmofilia.com reports that The Raid’s Iko Uwais has joined the cast. | New poster for this highly anticipated martial arts film. | First trailer for Man of Tai Chi. | Deadline reports that The Weinstein Company has secured the North American distribution rights to the film. Here’s a new poster as well. | New international trailer. | New character posters.

While it does note bode well for the box office success or quality of the film, the Weinstein Company has announced Man of Tai Chi will go straight to iTunes/On Demand services this September 27th. The movie will then receive a limited theatrical release this November 1st. Check out the latest trailer for Tai Chi and judge for yourself whether the film deserves a proper release! | New alternative poster, courtesy of of Crave. And don’t forget, you can watch Man of Tai Chi on VOD right now!

BREAKING NEWS: Collider has an interview with Reeves where he talks about Man of Tai Chi, making a film in China, 47 Ronin, what he collects and more. Interesting.

"Bruce Lee Legacy Collection" Blu-ray & DVD Booklet Packaging

After weeks of delays and quality concerns, Shout! Factory’s highly-anticipated Bruce Lee Legacy Collection became available for purchase last week. The final released version contained what was promised from the beginning: True HD remasters of all the Bruce Lee movies, not to mention a correction on one of the mislabeled discs.

However, there were many recent reports that the Fist of Fury Blu-ray disc was missing the mono Mandarin audio track. The good news is Shout! Factory is on top of it.

Today, cityonfire.com received the following email from Shout!: It’s come to our attention that on the Fist of Fury Blu-ray disc, the mono Mandarin audio track is not accessible. We regret this oversight. If you would like a replacement disc, please send an email to info@shoutfactory.com with “Bruce Lee Fist of Fury Replacement” in the subject line, and one will be mailed to you in 3 to 4 weeks.

Once again, thanks to Shout! Factory for their excellent customer service!

"Flash Point" Japanese Theatrical Poster

Twitch reports that Troy Nixey, the director of 2010 horror flick Don’t Be Afraid Of The Dark, has started pre-production on what may become Donnie Yen’s (Flash Point) first starring role in an English-language film. The title of the film is called Priority Run and judging from the synopsis below, it has the potential to be one heck of an action flick.

Official synopsis: Piority Run takes us on highway to hell ride guarding the worst of the worst convicts as they’re transported to a maximum security facility. But when the prison transport bus is ambushed on a remote stretch of highway by a sinister organization that appears intent on killing them all for some mysterious motive, the guards face a nightmare dilemma — release the most vicious criminals in the state or allow them to be slaughtered. Outnumbered and outgunned, its the most dangerous convict of them all with whom the guards must forge a precarious alliance with if they have any chance of surviving.

Yen’s previous Hollywood roles included small parts in 2000’s Highlander: Endgame, 2002’s Blade II and 2003’s Shanghai Knights. At one point, he was in talks to star in The Expendables 2, but turned down the offer because he “didn’t feel the role clicked.”

Although there’s no official sign of Ip Man 3 being in the can, Yen definitely has a busy schedule ahead of him. He is presently working on Teddy Chen’s high-octane action thriller The Last of the Best. In addition to Priority Run, he is also attached to two Chinese productions, Dragon City and The Master. Yen’s latest movie, Special Identity, is currently playing in selected theaters. His other completed films, Monkey King and  Iceman Cometh 3D (aka Iceman), will be released on January 31, 2014 and April 24, 2014, respectively.

"Homefront" Japanese Theatrical Poster

THE MOVIE: Directed by Gary Fleder (Kiss the Girls) and based on the novel of the same name by Chuck Logan, Homefront involves Phil Broker (Jason Statham), a former DEA agent who sees his quiet family life turned upside down when his path crosses with a band of drug traffickers, led by Gator (James Franco), a meth kingpin.

Homefront also stars Winona Ryder (The Iceman), Kate Bosworth (Straw Dogs) and Vincent D’Onofrio (Full Metal Jacket). The movie is produced and co-written by Sylvester Stallone (The Expendables 3), which was originally meant to be the premise for Rambo V.

Updates: Deadline reports that the film’s release date is October 4, 2013. | Teaser poster. | Don’t miss the first official trailer. New poster. | Check out the newest poster (and compare it with the earlier poster). Looks like the studios wanted more violence (added gun) and less patriotism. | IGN has the new Red Band trailer.

BREAKING NEWS: Check out the Japanese theatrical poster.

"Cannonball Run 2" Japanese Theatrical Poster

Director-stuntman Hal Needham, who was best known for the Smokey and the Bandit and Cannonball Run films, has died of cancer at the age of 82.

The Tennessee native served the country as paratrooper during the Korean war. Shortly after, he landed a model gig for Viceroy Cigarettes. He later began a successful career as a Hollywood stuntman, where he formed a company called Stunts Unlimited. Needham often doubled for famous names, most notably, Burt Reynolds.

Needham’s real big break came when he took Burt Reynolds’ advice to direct his own movie. The film was called Smokey and the Bandit, and it ended up becoming the fourth highest-grossing film of 1977. The success of Smokey and the Bandit led to a diverse filmography, where he made films like 1978’s Hooper, 1983’s Stroker Ace and the 1986 BMX cult-classic, Rad.

Hardcore fans of Hong Kong cinema recognize Needham as one of the first directors to expose Jackie Chan to Hollywood in 1981’s Cannonball Run, a film that he made with the help of Raymond Chow’s Golden Harvest studios. Needham would make two more Golden Harvest-backed films: The 1982 action-oddity Megaforce and 1984’s Cannonball Run II, which once again featured Jackie Chan.

In 1986, Needham earned the Academy’s Scientific and Engineering Award for the design and development of the Shotmaker Elite camera car and crane, a device that allows filmmakers to shoot action sequences with more ease and versatility. In 2012, Needham was awarded a Governors Award by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, where he was introduced by Quentin Tarantino.

Our condolences go out to Needham’s family and friends. Just like the title of his 1986 BMX movie, Needham did some rad stuff in his lifetime.

"22 Bullets" Korean Theatrical Poster

From producers Luc Besson (The Fifth Element) and Robert Mark Kamen (Taken) comes a “new” French action film called 22 Bullets (aka L’immortel) starring Jean Reno and directed by Richard Berry (The Black Box). 22 Bullets isn’t technically a new film. It’s actually been floating around other parts of the world since 2010, but it’s only now that the film is getting a North American limited theatrical release on November 8, 2013.

Here’s the official plot synopsis: Charly Matteï has turned his back on his life as an outlaw. For the last three years, he’s led a peaceful life devoting himself to his wife and two children. Then, one winter morning, he’s left for dead in the parking garage in Marseille’s Old Port, with 22 bullets in his body. Against all the odds, he doesn’t die. This film is a work of fiction inspired by real-life events in the world of the Marseille mafia.

I don’t know about you guys, but when I think of Luc Besson, I think of Léon: The Professional. And when I think of Léon: The Professional, I think of Jean Reno. I know Besson is only the producer, but the teaming of Besson and Reno for an action flick is a special thing. Let’s just hope the actual movie is too. Until then, here’s the trailer.

"The Constable" Chinese Theatrical Poster

Simon Yam is one of Hong Kong cinema’s most recognizable character actors, appearing in dozens of films both classic and recent, from John Woo’s Bullet in the Head to Donnie Yen’s Ip Man. Now Simon Yam is breaking out as the tough-as-nails action hero of his own film. The actor has teamed up with director Dennis Law (Fatal Move, Bad Blood) for a new Hong Kong action/thriller.

Their collaboration is titled The Constable and the trailer is now online. Once again, director Law is working with martial arts choreographer Nicky Li, a former member of Jackie Chan’s stunt team who knows how to put together a slick action sequence even when Law fails to draw a believable performance from his actors. Stay tuned for more info on this film.

BREAKING NEWS: The new trailer is now available at FilmSmash – Thanks to Film Combat Syndicate for the heads up!

"Bruce Lee Legacy Collection" Blu-ray & DVD Booklet Packaging

After weeks of delays and “quality” concerns, we are happy to report that a 100% corrected version of Shout! Factory’s highly-anticipated Bruce Lee Legacy Collection is now available to purchase.

In addition to the mislabeled discs being fixed, the set will contain what was promised from the beginning: True HD remasters of all the Bruce Lee movies.

An email from Shout! Factory was sent to those who received early pressings of the faulty set, which contained “upscaled versions” (i.e. standard definition) of the four Bruce Lee films. Here’s what the email says:

“Thank you for your recent purchase of the Bruce Lee Legacy Collection. We’re sorry to inform you that you have received a set that includes discs that do not meet our highest standards of quality assurance, and therefore we will be sending you replacement discs on or around September 16th.

The affected discs are all four Blu-rays, for which we have found improved hi-rez masters, and discs 10 and 11, which inadvertently contain content swapped from each other.

No action is required on your part. This email is simply intended to let you know about this problem and the steps we are taking to rectify it. Thanks again for your order.”

Shannon Lee also posted on Facebook: From Shout! Factory: “We discovered that we had not been given the recently restored transfers used for the Blu-rays in Hong Kong and Japan, but rather the original masters done a few years ago in Canada. We therefore acquired the improved masters, and have included them on this new set, for a truly definitive Bruce Lee collection.”

With that said, you can now pre-order the set with a smile on your face. Click here for the full press release.

Update: Shout! Factory has posted an official Facebook update regarding their Bruce Lee set:

An official update on our Bruce Lee box set: our new version of the Bruce Lee Legacy Collection contains the following differences from the one originally produced but withdrawn before street date:

– Correct pairing of disc label art and media for discs 10 and 11, which had inadvertently been swapped on the original release.

– New Blu-rays for The Big Boss, Fist of Fury and Way of The Dragon. Contrary to speculation circulating on the Internet, the original set did contain hi-def masters of the first three feature films. However, after comments from fans who had received early copies of our set, we discovered that our sources were not the recently restored transfers used for the Blu-rays in Hong Kong and Japan, but rather the original masters done a few years ago in Canada. We therefore acquired the improved masters (the master for Games of Death was not appreciably different), and have included them on this new set, for a truly definitive Bruce Lee collection.

Thank you all very much for hanging in there while we made these changes – we know it hasn’t been easy, but we didn’t want to announce the details officially until we knew for sure what we were able to include. The new street date for the set is 10/22 – for the people who ordered from shoutfactory.com and received early copies, replacement discs will be issued.

"Force of Execution" Theatrical Poster

Coming to a DVD clamshell near you is Steven Seagal’s latest movie, Force of Execution (watch the trailer). Seagal re-teams with A Dangerous Man and Maximum Conviction director Keoni Waxman. This time around, Pulp Fiction’s Ving Rhames and Machete’s Danny Trejo are along for the ride. Just don’t expect Seagal to be saving the world in this one, because he’s not exactly a good guy.

Here’s the plot, according to Voltage Pictures: Alexander’s (Seagal) criminal empire has been good to him – and devastating to his enemies – until his number one hitman, Roman (Bren Foster), messes up what should have been a routine hit. Alexander spares his protégé’s life but cripples his hands, thus ‘retiring’ Hurst forever. Before long, though, Alexander realizes that he’ll need Hurst’s help one last time when Iceman (Rhames), a ruthless killer, surfaces.

Updates: The DVD is now available for pre-order. Also, 2nd trailer is now available at Film Combat Syndicate.

"Shinjuku Incident" Japanese Theatrical Poster

HKSAR reports that while Jackie Chan was promoting CZ12 (aka Chinese Zodiac, Armour of God 3) at the film’s Los Angeles premiere, he revealed that he and director Ang Lee (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) were discussing scripts.

Before you get too excited, don’t assume that this project will be an action-martial arts movie like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Knowing Lee’s track record, there’s a good chance the two are discussing a drama or art house movie. Also, Chan has openly expressed that he wants to concentrate on serious acting, so working with Lee would be his perfect opportunity to do so.

The idea of Chan not performing any martial arts or stuntwork in a movie isn’t exactly a bad thing. If you don’t believe me, the proof is in 2008’s Shinjuku Incident, which I think is one of the best movies of his career.

Whatever the case, we still have some action to look forward to from Chan. One of them is the action-drama Police Story 2013 (since it’s being released early next year, wouldn’t it make more sense if they changed the title to Police Story 2014?), as well as the action-comedy Skiptrace. We’ll keep you posted!